How low can U go? Opta rankings show how poor Moyes' United have been (Image: PA)

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For two decades, it was a given. A statement of fact. Wear the red shirt of Manchester United, walk out of that Old Trafford tunnel, and nobody would question it – you had to be among the best.

Players who were Premier League, even global, greats. Iconic figures, who transcended the club yet simultaneously made United what they were – the dominant force under the iron control of the dominant manager.

Yet as David Moyes turns to Juan Mata to salvage a season heading for the rocks, things look very different for Sir Alex Ferguson’s chosen successor.

It is not just the run of results - although United’s January misery has cast a shroud of gloom across the club.

More than that, United no longer strut, no longer purr, no longer look like a sleek, deadly machine.

Indeed, as they set up camp in their own box for the final period of extra-time - a tactic that was unravelled by David de Gea’s horror fumble, even before the great shoot-out debacle that sent Gus Poyet’s men to Wembley - the scale of United’s decline was clear.

They say that the three types of falsehood are lies, damned lies and statistics. Sometimes, though, the statistics tell a horrible, burning truth.

United are not just under-achieving collectively – a glance at the Premier League table (seventh, 14 points behind the leaders) makes that abundantly clear.

They are also failing to get near the mark on an individual level. From a team of all-talents, to a side locked in what looks ominously like a death-spiral.

De Gea’s blunder may not have been part of a pattern of events from the outside, but according to number crunchers at Opta, the Spaniard is not just performing worse than Wojciech Szczesny, Petr Cech, Joe Hart and Hugo Lloris. He is, in fact, performing worse than EIGHTEEN top-flight keepers.

(Image: Clive Mason)

That seems a harsh analysis, although when a side keeps conceding soft goals – witness those scored this year alone by Tottenham, Swansea, Sunderland and Chelsea – the man with the gloves has to take some responsibility.

The men in front of De Gea are also castigated by Opta.

The figures suggest Johnny Evans is the only United defender in the Premier League’s top 20.

Given all those years when Gary Neville, Steve Bruce, Denis Irwin, Jaap Stam, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were mainstays of the League’s team of the season, the rankings strike a worrying tone.

In only one of the 18 seasons when the team has been named, 2011-12, have there been no United players included. And three or more Old Trafford players have been named in 12 campaigns.

Fair to say the number may be lower in May.

It should be no surprise that Patrice Evra is ranked behind Leighton Baines. After all, Moyes wanted his former Everton charge to replace the Frenchman.

United’s midfield was the province of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo. This season, while Adnan Januzaj has been a rare bright light, the statistics have Michael Carrick as the club's lone top 20 performer.

With Marouane Fellaini struggling to make any sort of mark and Tom Cleverley increasingly questioned, Jones has been drafted into the engine room.

And while the arrival of Mata is a source of promise, we also know he would not get into the Chelsea side. That is why he is joining United.

Arsenal fans now have the statistical back-up to point to the impact of Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil. City can offer man-mountain Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and David Silva. Ramires offers far more coming forward, Philippe Coutinho is a real schemer and Steven Gerrard is England captain.

Only up front, where Rooney ranks second below Premier League top scorer Luis Suarez, and Danny Welbeck and Robin van Persie are in the top 10, do United have a department rated as pulling their weight.

Close behind Rooney, though, are Sergio Aguero, Eden Hazard, Daniel Sturridge and Olivier Giroud. They are all scoring and their teams are flying.

United, by contrast, are plunging. Never before have they needed a game-changer so much.

Good luck, Juan. You will need it.

Opta Index Premier League rankings by position

The Opta Index is calculated by taking over 250 statistical categories from own goals and missed tackles to key passes and goals scored, and awarding them a positive or negative points score based on the outcome.